China Will Become Global Math Leader in Next Decade, First Chinese Fields Medal Winner Says

(Yicai) Jan. 6 -- China is set to become a mathematical powerhouse in the next five to 10 years and more Chinese mathematicians could win the Fields Medal, the world’s top math award, said Shing-Tung Yau, the first Chinese recipient of this prize.China’s math community has developed in a vibrant and diverse way across number theory, algebra and geometry, Yau told Yicai during the ongoing 10th International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians in Shanghai. Twenty-eight years ago, when the ICCM was established, Chinese mathematicians worked in only a few narrow fields.At this year's ICCM, which runs from Jan. 3 to Jan. 7, three Chinese mathematicians, have been awarded the highest honor, namely the ICCM Gold Medal of Mathematics.One of them is Wang Hong, a professor at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, who announced in February 2025 that she had, along with her collaborators, solved the classical geometric problem known as the Kakeya Conjecture. This makes the 35-year-old one of the top contenders for the 2026 Fields Medal.The selection process for this year's Fields Medal began last autumn and the results will be announced in February. The competition is very close this year, Yau said."Wang has a strong chance, but it is difficult to compare results from different research fields, and there is a degree of subjectivity in the review process. The final outcome remains to be seen," Yau said.China has a large number of exceptionally talented young mathematicians around the age of 12, who are on par with their peers in the United States or any other country, Yau said. So China is not short of young talent with original creative potential.However, once these students reach high school, many go through exam-focused education that only allows one correct answer. This trains them to find the best solution within a given framework but limits their ability to ask new questions or explore new directions, Yau said.Chinese society should create better conditions to teach students how to enhance creativity, including involving more top scholars in basic education and popular science work to exert a positive influence, Yau said.During the meeting, Yau also shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence. He believes AI cannot replace mathematicians. In fact, if AI is to overcome the constraints of energy consumption and computing power, it must return to the development of fundamental math theories.What truly drives science forward is always a conceptual leap in our understanding of the world, Yau said. Top-tier math results are often a groundbreaking redefinition of the essence of a problem, rather than finding statistically optimal answers from an existing pool of solutions.Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor